#and final note: this is not hostile to the asker

[euniexenoblade]

re: egg discourse

i thought it was just people saying that specifically making jokes about someone being trans but not knowing it yet can be kinda invalidating and sometimes traumatic. are people actually saying you should never tell someone that they might be trans?

i dont really have a side in the debate it just feels like people are willfully misunderstanding eachother and its making my brain hurt

"making jokes about someone being trans but not knowing it yet can be kinda invalidating and sometimes traumatic"

Sure, but it also isn't for a lot of people. And, a lot of people I talk to say egg jokes helped them realize who they were. Though I do think part of this resistance to an egg joke is actually internalized transphobia at points (the idea of being compared to trans people is being treated as degrading in a lot of these people's arguments) the truth of the matter is different people need and want different things. Me making eggs jokes with my friends is not your friend group.

This is why the recurring complaint of our side is it's never egg jokes can make people uncomfortable, 'make sure your friends are cool with them before just doing them,' it's always complaining about trans women forcing cis men to be women or trans women being "transvestigators" or "similar to Christian missionaries." People who are uncomfortable with egg jokes are always projecting their discomfort onto other people, other friend groups, and portray harmless fun between friends as something abusive.

Like for example,

this is a projection. the egg jokes people are talking about happen among friends and stuff, but this person is doing a whole "never make egg jokes because people did it about me and made me feel bad" (oh woe is you, people thought you might be transgender, how disgusting to be a tranny). The majority of egg jokes are not about random ass people, it's within friend groups. And, if you don't like your friends saying them, tell them to stop. If they don't? Then stop being their friends. Also from that post

The underwater filter butchered that. I know you can't read it but I wanted to post it cuz fucking look at that. What the hell. Anyways,

This opposition to egg joke people always talk about strangers. As if we're walking up to random people on the street and making egg jokes about them. It's mostly contained to friend groups. This is just an inaccurate portrayal of what's actually being discussed, and I'm sure the op will be like "I'm talking about my experience!" but OP openly admitted that this rant was relevant to a random blogger complaining about an egg tweet a woman made about her own friend group that neither this OP or that blogger are part of. They are actually dictating how strangers are allowed to act and identify with this, not the egg jokesters.

Yeah, once and a while you get shit like "Aaron Bushnell seems transfem" which was a completely innocuous convo that no one would have seen if well known transmisogynists who accuse random trans women of pedophilia like three times a year hadn't found the post. It was a trans woman seeing herself in someone important in history, and even if someone said something inappropriate, the backlash was undeserved. Yall say embarrassing shit all the time and no one's running you off the web site for it.

I'm sorry this person and others seem to have a bad time with egg jokes (though most of the time, what they describe isn't egg jokes but that's a whole other thing), but their few experiences can not be used to determine a blanket response to something so many people actually do enjoy and find useful. I'm especially not gonna take a cis person's opinions on egg jokes seriously (since so many have seemed to gotten involved and think their opinion on this matters).

"are people actually saying you should never tell someone that they might be trans?"

Yes! That's like, the entire underlying premise of this! Like, 100% this is the backbone of every anti-egg joke argument. That's the entire concept of "egg prime directive." And, it's overwhelmingly weaponized against trying to help transfems realize themselves sooner than they would. From the aforementioned Bushnell drama, to the polls where a shit ton of transmascs voted it was ok to tell an eggy friend they might be a trans man but NOT ok to tell an eggy friend they might be a trans woman, to the newest drama where chongoblog whined about a random trans woman on twitter making egg jokes about her friend (which it was later revealed chongoblog misrepresented the tweet), the anti egg joke committee / "You can't tell anyone they're trans!!!" crew are always wielding this ideology against transfems / trans women but practically never against transmascs.

This is why it's constantly said that these posts and arguments are transmisogynistic in nature. "I'm a trans woman and I say eggs jokes are bad, so it can't be transmisogynistic you're just using that as a shield!" That's great but 1) maybe read between the lines, or read the criticisms you're clearly ignoring and maybe you'll see these people don't respect you 2) the whole "using transmisogyny as a shield" is like, classic transmisogyny at this point. We've been hearing that from anti-feminists, cryptoterfs, and trans woman hating google doc writers for a few years now and 3) you being complicit doesn't mean we gotta care about what you say.

"it just feels like people are willfully misunderstanding eachother and its making my brain hurt"

Oh, I'm sure this is absolutely the case. The problem is a bunch of transphobes are really who spurred a lot of this drama up earlier this year and instead of people thinking "oh these people have bad intentions I shouldn't boost this" they instead were like "Yeah! I don't like egg jokes!" and now we have to deal with trans women making egg jokes (normal, harmless, pro-trans and literally want to help trans people) being compared to transvestigators (a literal anti-trans hate group thing). The issue is people aren't treating us as people, and thus it gets returned in kind.

What's the answer to this? Mutual understanding that "some people need to be told they're trans," "some people don't respond well to being told who they are," "egg jokes can help people and be a fun joke for friends," and "some people are uncomfortable with egg jokes" can all coexist. But, honestly, I don't think we'll ever get there.

[just-asks-and-beats]

Hi! this may be a bit of a sad spot for some, but there’s no way this blog is going anywhere anymore lol, I just don’t have the motivation whatsoever. jsab is a great game and I still love it, im just not motivated to make anything for it anymore. That’s how life is, you just drift away from some things.

So, to thank you for coming along for the ride while it was still going, i’ll go ahead and explain the storyline and where things were going! there’s proooobably going to be a lot? idk yet, but it’ll be under the cut!

So I had a little draft in my notes app of just basic guidelines for the story. it’s unfinished but here’s all of it:

blixer wakes up in the woods, tries to get his bearings, kinda panics a bit and wants to find a place to hide ☑️

(backstory) meanwhile, lycanthropy had moved to the main island but is slowly starting to turn pink again, mostly keeps it a secret but the people who know freak out, thinking the corruption is coming back☑️

lycan runs away and eventually finds blixer in the woods, doesn’t recognize him, they travel together n try to find a place to go☑️

lycan wants to go back to the volcano, blixer has nowhere else to go bc it’s either that or going back to the island with the cave he was stuck in which is what made him get really pissed off in the first place so he doesn’t want to go back there. ☑️

eventually make it to the volcano, Ship helps get them there, not recognising either of em.☑️

barracuda just. is like “what”☑️

he knows it’s Blixer but doesn’t know lycan or the askers know so he doesn’t say anything for blixers safety. ☑️

eventually the secret it out in the open, blixer admits to being himself and is surprised to know everyone else already knew but sort of relieved, trusting everyone a little more.

potential conflict between Blixer and Barracuda about unsolved issues between their relationship

meanwhile, Cyan and Cube hear of lycan’s disappearance and want to check out the volcano, since that’s where he stayed when he was corrupted, they also want to see how barracuda is doing and if he is still hostile or not.

cut back to barracuda lycan and blixer, they all made up and are now trying to figure out how to get blixer back to his normal form

ship takes cube and cyan to the volcano

the stuff with the checks were things we got to, and those without it were what was to come! also yes you read that right, I was planning on having a little twist where Barracuda actually knew that it was Blixer the whole time! Which would lead into the information that they were childhood friends prior to Blixer being shunned from society and sealed away in the cave, only to be reunited during the corruption! Alsooo… the notes are kind of unfinished because I was going to make up the rest of the stuff as i went. I had no idea how I was going to “end” the story, or what I would do after. Though I would probably do something along the lines of this:

Barracuda and Lycan are able to find a way to bring Blixer back to his normal form… unfortunately just as Cube and Cyan arrive. The terrible timing causes everyone to panic, especially Blixer and Cyan. Blixer, accidentally attacks the two blue shapes in a blind panic as he thinks his life is in danger, then flees the scene.

The other shapes are all incredibly worried, and as Cube questions Barracuda and Lycan, they all notice that Cyan is gone, having chased after Blixer.

Cyan has caught up to him and a fight has ensued. Both think the other is dangerous and are fighting for their lives.

The characters and askers have to work together to de-escalate the situation, the “ending” being everyone coming to an understanding of one another, and Blixer finally being accepted into society once again, his big debut being a huge party everyone was invited to as an apology for his wrongdoings. (also btw I just remembered Heli existed WHOOPS! uhhh I would probably say they were fighting on top of a mountain because Blixer found a cave on the mountaintop and tried to hide by Cyan found him and the fight started, and they’d have to ask Heli for help to get there!)

After the story ended either A. The blog would retire, or B. I would do random things like character Q&A’s, M!A’s, etc, until I could think up how to work in some sort of mini story here and there. The cycle would continue until I got tired of the blog.

Aaaand that’s it! Thanks so much for all the support, and I hope this is at least a little bit of closure so it doesn’t seem like I left things off on a cliffhanger or something!

[bluecastleinthesky]

please ignore this if the topic makes you uncomfortable.

lots of ww2 stuff in this fandom but no ww1.

so ww1 proto prucan. prussia/canada's interactions over the brutality of the war years. canadas first war to one of prussia's last. their increasing illness as the years pass. what does prussia think of this war and of seeing essentially a child nation fall in line with the brutality of the war? and to adapt to it so well when canada's nature seemed so different from this wars environment?

Okay i’m going to be real here. There is going to be more. So much more. This is going to be long. This may end up being my NaNoWrMo project because my GOD i love WW1. (i’m actually doing my phd centered on it) so here is a snippet. there will be more. Wait for me prompt asker <3 

The ending

Canada looked over the silent destruction. The dead had passed and the silence except for the hum of the earth and flies rang in his ears. Picking his way across the field the no longer hostile land permitting his passage he looked for white among the bodies. In the back of his mind he hoped Austria and Germany were feeling every bit of the weariness he felt. But Prussia…he hoped Prussia had ceased to feel at all. He remembered when his mother. Alfred’s mother had begun to fade. How her sense of pain had dulled after decades of incursions by England and others before she finally disappeared ghostlike after France and England officially named America and him as avatars of the land. He wondered if the same would happen to Prussia as Prussian military and governmental power diminished. He hoped it was quick unlike the long slow decay of Rome.

The beginning

Prussia looked glumly over the plans on his desk while he supported William he could not help but wish Fredrick could have kept his shit together another few years. William had been fantastic at the military school he helped at but was absolutely terrible at diplomacy. Not that Prussia was much better. He winced thinking of the last shouting match he had had with Russia the previous week. Still, if William wanted to burn bridges with his cousins that’s what Prussia was going to do he picked up his desk putting the files and letters in his bag every pen and item in its exact spot. Walking through the corridors of the place he looked out the window to the clear April sky. He would have to see if Ludwig wanted to go with him next week to visit Austria and Hungary. While still growing into being a nation his brother had a much better relationship with the two than Prussia did. Ironic really Prussia mused weaving his way around quiet conversations in the hall. Getting to the room he was looking for Prussia straightened himself out again lifting his head high and pushing the doors open.

“Hello Britain” he said coolly moving around to the head of the table receiving a soft humph in response. As he settled in his seat, he looked over the entourage that had come with his British counterpart. Normally Wales or more recently India came along as a secretary and flunky this pale shadow of a nation was a different companion. Prussia let his diplomat and Britain’s conduct their business as he sized up Britain’s companion. Canadia? Canada? It must be as Prussia ran down his list of commonwealth and colonies that Britain owned. Internally Prussia was surprised at the difference between American and Canada. While America was tall and brash and into Prussia’s universities and Austria’s science, Canada seemed smaller, younger. Prussia realized the word he was looking for was ‘colonial’. Still it was not often a different face came to a meeting he would have to formally introduce himself after they finished holding their Admirals hands.

Tuning back into the matter at hand Prussia handed the documents outlining ship and navel changes to Von Tirpitz. Fading back into the background to watch. Things had changed since the unification. Over the last 80 years somehow their kind had slipped from conducting things on their own with the support of their leader to subtly pulling strings and forming connections in the background. The glance Britain gave Prussia was met with a nod to a side door which they both moved to as the meeting moved to business and their bosses sat. The adjoining room was set up with a settee and refreshments which Prussia moved to immediately. “Glass of scotch Britain”

“Of course” the other nation said wandering over to the nearby window.

Pouring the glass under the watchful eye of Canada Prussia handed the drink off to the other nation to take to his master “Did you want something to or…” Prussia asked

“No thank you” the other nation replied taking the drink over to Britain and attempting in Prussia’s eyes quite successfully to fade into the background.

“I can’t believe they’ve tamed you like this” Britain commented as he took a sip.

“We’ve both been tamed” Prussia said resisting the urge to bare his teeth.

“It’s a pity” murmured Britain.

Prussia did not bother responding to that pouring his own drink instead. “I saw America the other day” he finally said “he was harassing the scientists over in Brandenburg again. It’s always a delight when he comes over”

“He doesn’t call does he” Britain said glancing over.

“Never. It’s always a shock to feel him arrive”

“I keep telling him one day he is going to wander onto Switz’s land and be shot”

“It would serve him right” Prussia said with an eyeroll “still nice to have the colonies over” he nodded at the vague shape of Canada (how did he almost literally disappear?).

Britain took the opening “I thought since Canada is becoming more federated it would be useful to begin to meet others. Besides it’s been a while.”

Prussia nodded sitting the settee in a way that would make both his boss’s wife and Ludwig grit their teeth. But honestly if a nation couldn’t lounge tiger like on furniture in their own governmental halls, where could they? Prussia honestly thought that half of his brother’s idea’s of manners and propriety were a result of Austrian and Williams’s wife’s ridiculous standards.

Britain must have read his mind “How’s Germany doing?”

Prussia shrugged “Well he’s gotten tall”

“You should keep an eye on that” Britain warned

The sweet alcohol in Prussia’s glass suddenly soured “I don’t know what you mean” he said derisively looking at the smaller man.

“You know exactly what I mean” Britain said meeting his gaze unflinchingly. “On a lighter note how is Augusta?”

“Charming as ever and off in the countryside for the fresh air”

“She was always such a good child” England said wistfully “She loved the roses at Kent house”

“I remember” Prussia said thinking of how small Ludwig had been when he had gone to pay his respects to Britain’s queen and the heavy rose bushes surrounding the garden as the children played.

Britain interrupted Prussia’s musings pushing Canada forward with a nudge “I know you used to enjoy the snow Canada has begun setting up ‘ski’ retreats in his territory I heard Austria and your brother were doing the same”

Prussia took the opening “Have you been meeting with Norway then?” He asked the younger nation curiously.

Canada nodded his carefully demure but confident façade slightly shifting as Prussia got up to circle him.

“Hmm” Prussia said coming back to the front “You should talk to Finland or Russia and then Finland”

“You know that wouldn’t be wise” Britain cut in.

Prussia ignored him “Finny is built like you and has been building racing tracks with Norway I’m sure he’d have advice”

Canada nodded “Do you ski?” he asked tentatively

Prussia shrugged “it gets you places but I haven’t found it more than a useful way to get places my brother finds it ‘fun’ though”

“Oh” Canada blinked “Well we would welcome a visit once we have established it as an industry” he glanced back at Britain who gave him an improving nod.

Prussia rolled his eyes “I would enjoy that the last time I went to the America’s I was helping your brother out it would be nice to just relax” he smiled at the stiffing of Britain’s shoulders.

Canada faded a bit before coming back into focus “I look forward to it then”

With that the door creaked open and another lacky peeked in. “Sirs?”

“We will be right there” Prussia said with a nod.

“See you soon Britain, Canada” he said ushering them back to their masters.

“Likewise” Britain replied steering his colony back to their side of the table.

[dimples-of-discontent]

Thoughts on “Destiel is Real.”

So, I’ve been relatively scarce of late (except for when I went bonkers with reblogging deadly Cockles content...which I think I blacked out from b/c it was like being waaayyyy too high and it’s all their fault) because, if y’all don’t know, I have stage 4 breast cancer and am in chemo. I’m tolerating it really well but it takes a surprising amount of time, actually, especially since I’m still working 80% time and also living alone so doing house stuff etc. 

This is all to say that I’m weighing in on things belatedly a lot. Like, I do still want to analyze the Cockles JIB panel as a whole b/c, oh my, was there a lot there. But today I will settle for this piece of it. I apologize if this is reduplicating what smart folks said elsewhere right when it happened. I was also off Twitter to avoid having it bring me down so I might just be really unaware. But as soon as this moment happened I was like, “oh man we’re gonna argue about this for like 84 years.” So here’s my small contribution on what this reminded me of.

To me, listening to Jensen and watching him engage the crowd, inspired a lot of anxiety b/c it did definitely seem like he was pissed off. I just couldn’t tell with what or who, especially given firsthand context from some folks in the room like @bluestar86​ who wrote this account: https://twitter.com/bluestar861/status/1130255687290937344?s=21 about the general positivity Jensen and Misha had shown earlier (which is why Misha mentioned the shirt) and how the energy in the room was almost entirely positive. I totally believe that. But it didn’t reconcile easily with what I felt I saw from Jensen.

Until I remembered SDCC 2011. The one where Misha had been fired and all of them knew but none of the fans do. I wrote a long meta on that panel that I’m actually super happy with so maybe check it out? Anyway, this is how I described some of the dynamics:

The way everyone is sitting at this table isolates Sera and the body language from Jared and Jensen is openly hostile. Jensen especially pushes himself as far away as possible, defensively crosses his arms, leans away, doesn’t make any eye contact. Jared is also pissed and is functionally shielding Misha with his body while he does the first Cas question. Both of them are very protective and Jensen is more than a little hostile. They also both keep egging the audience on in their love for Cas/Misha, as when Jensen shouts “YEAH!” in affirmation of audience shrieks about the character. They want to show Sera what a piss poor decision it was to take Misha away from the fans…and from them. Whatever else you see happening these are some amazing friends.  

So, we had a remarkably angry Jensen at this panel and he was angry specifically because the network had made what he considered--both professionally and personally--to be a fucking terrible decision. But he couldn’t say that. He’s got NDAs and stuff to worry about. So instead he settled, among other things, from egging the audience on to show how much they loved and wanted more Castiel. 

Now I’m not saying the correlation is 1-1 with Destiel. But I am suggesting a thought experiment where something similar could be going on. And by “something similar” I mean “Jensen has inside knowledge about a thing the network has decided that he thinks is fucking stupid and that will hurt the fandom.” Like, oh for example, they’re not moving Destiel out of the subtext.

Additional fuel for this fire. Many have speculated that it’s network president Mark Pedowitz who’s the blocker. Jensen, earlier in the panel, asks the audience to applaud Pedowitz. That’s weird and he’s never done it before. True, Jared was talking about how Pedowitz says that they set examples for other shows and that Pedowitz is complimenting them on it so it was at least that in part. But Jensen is MASTERFUL at throwing shade while appearing to be doing the correct, professional thing. Witness his comments about Bob Singer and last year’s S13 finale. He’s done it with Eugenie and Sera too and probably others I don’t know about. Having the audience applaud Pedowitz if he knows something negative about Pedowitz--something the audience won’t like and that will actively hurt many of them--has a major bite of irony that I feel Jensen is perfectly capable of trying to engineer. (Or maybe there hasn’t been a final decision but he knows it doesn’t look good and why. Don’t lose hope! This is just speculation and a thought experiment.)

I’m going to put the JIB analysis under a cut, since it’s long and has lots of images. It ends with “The most similar behavior I saw was Jensen angrily getting the audience to cheer for something, even doing the same hand-raising gesture. In 2011 it was Castiel (”Go on! Show Sera how much you love the character she killled!”) and this time it was Destiel (”Go on! Show the network how much you love the ship they won’t textualize!”). That’s what made me think, initially, that he may know something about plans for Destiel that a) makes him mad, b) that he considers a bad decision by the network, c) that he thinks that audience will be hurt by.”

Anyway,

If you watch the JIB panel (starting about 12 mins in) you see, first, that Jensen wants Misha not to bring it up. He raises his hand at Misha which I first thought was him being like “shhhhhh don’t bring that up!” but which on repeat viewing I think was him actually just trying to get Misha to shut up so he could literally try to understand what she was saying. Once the audience reacts to Misha’s comment these are their faces:

Jared is absolutely looking at Misha like, “dude, why did you have to go and do that? You just threw a live grenade onstage.” Jensen is hamming it up gesturing at the audience to scream louder. 

Jared changes his face to “well, when you’re right, you’re right! What are you gonna do.”

Here’s Jensen. He’s looking grumpy. Now, is it fake grumpy, a recognized and favored persona that he has. Or is it actually grumpy? Or is it both”

I think it’s both. But I also think he looks sad. And concerned. Like, on behalf of the audience not for him. Now you can say I’m projecting if you want--this is all total rampant speculation--but look at his eyes. I think he’s upset that he has to talk about this at all (since he knows a little about the fandom conflict it sets off) but there’s something else. 

He pauses for a good, long time looking at the audience responding. And according to Saz and others the response was HUGELY POSITIVE! So why does he then announce into the mic with a grumpy fake laugh and what I honestly have to call sarcasm, “Destiel is real!” 

Note that Misha is not worried by this. If Jensen were actually legitimately furious I think Misha would look a little worried. But instead he looks amused and curious about where this is going.

This is Jensen asking “Is it?” for the first time. He looks intentionally confused - that’s the bit he’s doing. 

Here’s Jensen after the audience starts to audibly yell “Nooooo!!” His face says “WHAAAAAAT!?”

People then yell “yes” to drown them out and he asks, “Where?”

Second “where?”. Maybe he’s trying to get them to say “subtext” - a word the cast has great familiarity with and which was used in “Fan Fiction” and which they can joke around a lot about. That’s my guess. Maybe he has a subtext joke set up he wants to do with Misha. (Remember his tweet to Misha during “Fan Fiction: “you keep your subtext to yourself. I’m not that kind of girl. Wait...”)

They don’t - at least not clearly. Someone in the front row says, “Nowhere.” Misha says, “Help” (after mouthing something at someone in the audience that is probably “I’m sorry about this.” Jensen checks on Misha BUT disregards the fact that he’s looking over at the question-asker (who didn’t even ASK a Destiel question, just wear a shirt she liked) and asks “Where?” AGAIN.

Misha then takes things in hand and reaches out to tell Jensen, “don’t get into a fight with these people.” Jared is making a “Yikes!” face at the person in the first row who is continually yelling “Nowhere!”. 

Jensen does sit down, but he’s mad. He’s really tense and it takes him a while to shake it off. 

Who’s he tense with? The most obvious answer is the audience but let’s consider a couple things. 1) The audience was giving a mixed answer, including and sometimes more loudly the “Nowhere!” that you would think Jensen would want to hear IF he were angry/tense about the “Destiel is real” shirt or the audience’s support of it. 2) He was demanding consensus and an answer to where it was real EITHER to have them say “nowhere”--which they did so why not just stop?--OR to get them to say something like “subtext” to lead them into either a question or a bit about it.

So why keep pushing? Hoping to change the answer? Hoping to find consensus? Or maybe just hoping to get them to make a lot of noise about it for a long time (at which he succeeded). Now, Jensen is famously inconsistent about Destiel and also famously different onstage, especially for J2 audiences...though this, the most Holy Gay panel of all the panels, isn’t a place he’d shy away from, e.g. “What would Dean and Cas do on a trip to Rome? Everything I think of right now is inappropriate.” 

Which brings us back to “who’s he tense with”? Could it be only part of the audience? Which part? The part yelling “nowhere” or the part yelling whatever positive things they were yelling? I’m going to hypothesize, based on a LOT of other stuff that I’ve written about, that he’s annoyed with the negative folks spoiling it for everyone with their “nowheres” and is trying to get the positive folks to drown them out and give him a good answer he can run with. 

The fact that nothing coherent emerges is actually what gets him annoyed. And, by extension, the volume and persistence of that small part of the audience, which lets people like Pedowitz shoot down the idea of textual Destiel as something the viewers “don’t want,” annoys the living shit out of him because he sees the viewers all the time and knows that a majority of them either are ok with or actively want textual Destiel.  I imagine him thinking something along the lines of, “Why can’t these nice people just have what they want? It’s b/c of assholes like you.”

He definitely lets his emotions get the better of him. He was already not in the best place, thanks to circumstances I hope to write about later but which boil down to having his special panel with Misha (that he was visibly psyched for from the moment he got onstage, “I always have so much fun with you!”) taken away because he got some awkward wood from being choked and straddled. So with that grumpiness he was primed not to make the best decisions. He gets aggressive and confrontational when he’s pissed, which is a thing I don’t love about him, even though it’s very easy to see why, and maybe this was just his battleground of choice. 

To get back to the thought experiment about whether this is like SDCC 2011, though, I think it could be. I think it’s far more complex, given all the discourse surrounding Destiel and Jensen’s own sexuality. (Here’s a post I wrote in response to a question about Jensen and Destiel and bi!Dean that asked whether I thought he experienced them as about himself and Misha.) It’s tough, b/c each piece of evidence could go both ways (ha). Either mentioning Pedowitz for applause is excellent shade or total sincerity. Either Jensen is mad at the pro-Destiel audience and trying to get them to admit that they’re wrong, or he’s mad at the antis and trying to get them drowned out. 

The most similar behavior I saw was Jensen angrily getting the audience to cheer for something, even doing the same hand-raising gesture. In 2011 it was Castiel (”Go on! Show Sera how much you love the character she killled!”) and this time it was Destiel (”Go on! Show the network how much you love the ship they won’t textualize!”). That’s what made me think, initially, that he may know something about plans for Destiel that a) makes him mad, b) that he considers a bad decision by the network, c) that he thinks that audience will be hurt by.

Given his shift in attitude overall and the mood of the room as described by attendees, it seems plausible to me that his engagement was a performance, using the audience, of what it is the viewers ACTUALLY want. But it could also just have been a grouchy Jensen taking it out on an old, familiar punching bag - the topic he never wants to discuss onstage - Destiel.

[polaristranslations]

Musubimonogatari: Afterword

Afterword

After I started writing a series, the question I've gotten the most tired of being asked and having to answer would be the oft-asked, "How far in advance did you think of these things?" If I answer "I didn't particularly think of anything in advance", then it would just sound hostile and disappoint the asker, but if I answer "Everything was calculated well in advance and everything is going according to plan", that also sounded rather unpleasant. Saying, "Things were thought of in advance to some degree, but a lot of it was set up to reasonably fit the situation and trends at the time, and I managed to put it together in some way or another, despite adding new things or going back to old things on the fly" would be the most accurate answer, and you might wonder, what part of this ambiguous answer could possibly be accurate? But really, that's about it. In short, it's a problem that involves "to some degree" or "to some extent", so if you ask whether something is 1 or 0 with no in-between--well, no matter how much an author plans things out, I highly doubt that there's anyone that can make things go perfectly as planned over a course of a series. When you actually start writing, it may end up turning out completely different from what you imagined in your head, and it's something you won't know until you try, so it's not necessarily the right thing to do to insist on sticking to the plan, either. It is important to carry out your original intention, of course, but "if you do it once and it's bad, you should do it again" is also a possibility. What's important is not to "think of things in advance", but to "keep thinking of things until the very end", is ultimately what I've repeatedly ended up believing and not believing.

Anyway, taking this from a different perspective, then what about the Monogatari Series? When the two volumes of "Bakemonogatari" were published in 2006, I can't definitively speak for whether or not I had any ideas of the contents of the book you're reading, since I can't remember very clearly, but it's likely that I hadn't written a single word of this book. Far from "Bakemonogatari", even when I wrote the previous work, "Nademonogatari", I believe I hadn't written a single word of this book. Well, I'm sure there was at least a single word. But if you take that to mean that I hadn't thought of anything about it at all, then I don't think that's quite right, either. I had probably thought about it, thought about it, thought about it, and thought about it some more, and with over ten years passing, I can surmise that some of what I thought about stayed alive in some form or another in this book. I can believe that the things I thought about didn't go to waste. For example, even if there was an idea I didn't use, that train of thought had still taken form, which could then have acted as another path for me. And so, you have this book that was one hundred percent written as a hobby, the once-again completed Monogatari Series, the 22nd volume detailing Araragi Koyomi at 23 years of age, the final book of the Off Season, "Musubimonogatari".

I am grateful to VOFAN-san for the illustration of Senjougahara Hitagi in a white kimono on the cover. Thank you very much. She is also 23 years old now. As a bit of an overlap with the cover of "Bakemonogatari", she's carrying a stapler in her hand. Ten years ago, I would never have predicted that Senjougahara-san would grace the cover of a book like this. Now then, what shall I think of next?

Nisio Isin

Translator's Afterword

If you've reached this point while under the impression that you've just finished reading the novel, "Musubimonogatari", by Nisio Isin, then you'd be wrong. At worst, this is just some well-written fanfiction. Or perhaps even poorly-written, depending on your tastes. Anyway, the point I'm trying to get at is that a translated work is never simply just "translated"--the work inevitably has to be interpreted and transformed by the translator, and the output that is produced will inevitably contain the translator's presumptions and biases, whether they're biases regarding the work itself, biases regarding the English language, or something else entirely. It's almost like a warped version of the Ship of Theseus. Well, in short, just take my translation (and by extension, all translations) with a grain of salt. I just felt like writing a smart-sounding paragraph to sound clever and philosophical like Nisio did above.

Overall, I took a much more cavalier (that is, lazy) approach to this novel, focusing more on readability in English than preserving every minute detail of the text as presented in Japanese. Hopefully I succeeded, and the text does flow well enough for an amateur translation. I figure it's worth noting that in a Japanese-to-English translation, you'd think the hard part would be being fluent in Japanese, but honestly I felt like this was a bigger challenge to my knowledge of the English language more than anything. I also went with an approach of not using translator's notes, since I always felt like they interrupted reading (especially with something like footnotes, which do not work on webpages because of how far you have to scroll down the page). Fortunately for this novel, there wasn't really a whole lot worth explaining, aside from the few puns that I just slipped in in-line Japanese readings for. Although, if a certain tongue-tied snail had appeared, that would have been its own struggle entirely.

There are so many more things about the translation that I could address, but it's probably better to stop myself now. In a way, I both pity and envy official translators who don't necessarily get a space like this to ramble on about their own opinions. Ideally, a translation should be able to stand on its own without its translator hovering around it like a helicopter parent, but on the other hand, it can be useful to have a space where I can take responsibility for my own influences that I've introduced into this translation. Regardless, on behalf of the original author, thanks for reading "Musubimonogatari", and please continue to support the Monogatari Series in the future.

Polaris

[chaos-in-pandoras-box]

Interviewing a Slink

Pandora’s interview with Crossbow the Slink. These guys are so weird! <3

Interview with Crossbow P: Okay then , we’ll get started. You have an idea of what goes on in these interviews already, right? C: Yes. I have watched. P: So, for everyone who asked questions, can you say a quick hello for us Crossbow? C: Hello there. *gentle wave* P: So for our first question, jumping right into it, what would your ideal lover be like, Crossbow? What’s your idea of beauty? C: A lover? Well… I like humans. I don’t care what gender or type. Lots of humans are nice… And my idea of beauty is based on whether or not you have lazy eyes. P: What about Slinks? Do you have an ideal Slink mate? C: No. Not really. Female Slinks smell funny, and male Slinks are mean. I would rather date a lamp. Or mate with one. Might be more pleasant anyway. I am odd. Yes. P: *stifling a laugh* Okay, so you much prefer humans to Slinks. This same person is asking about your homeworld, but...since you technically live in an astral realm, we’ll just go with what your home looks like. C: Yes… we share a homeworld. Earth. It is an okay place. My home is dirty. Literally. It’s made out of dirt because I dug it out. I have a bed of leaves and cotton fluff that I stole from several plush stitched things around the area, and in one corner I stack all of my favorite clothes. That’s about all. P: Here’s a question from another user: What is your opinion or guess on why Slinks are the less popular race in the shop? C: That’s a silly question. It’s obviously because we are not attractive. P: Aww, I like you guys. C: I like you too. And we like humans. They especially taste good. And they are pretty. P: Are you going to eat me? C: No, but I might take just a small lick when you’re sleeping tonight. P: *makes a face* Erm...okay then. Moving on! What do you and your species think of humans in general. (You’ve already sort of covered this, but perhaps a little more in depth?) C: In general, humans are vital to us. Our society is based around what we can obtain from humans. Clothing, food, junk… Belts. Belts have to be separate from clothing because they are very special. We love belts. And many of us love humans. Perhaps for uncomfortable reasons. P: I think for most people’s comfort we probably won’t delve into those. C: Well I don’t mind sharing whenever you want me to. I have many stories. P: Well...we might have time for one short story. Just remember the audience and try not to make it too graphic. C: Okay. P: I know, it sucks all the fun out of things. C: That is okay. I will share a short one. Very short. P: *nods* All right, go ahead. C: I don’t remember what I was going to talk about at first, so I changed my mind and will tell the story of how I got both my legs trapped in one side of a pair of pants. It was tragic. P: *raised eyebrow* That sounds...absolutely awful. C: Yes. I flopped on the ground and had to use all my strength to break free. When I did get both legs in the appropriate holes, they ripped down the crotch. So I decided to give them to Ribbon. He wore one of the pant legs as a hat for a while. The end. P: For the querents, Ribbon is one of your Slink friends? C: Yes. He wears a tie on his horn that looks like a ribbon, so he is called Ribbon. His other horn is broken and he walks with a waddle. He is more odd than most Slinks. He always smells like fish. P: *refrains from wrinkling nose* He sounds like an interesting guy. On a different note, someone wants to know if Slinks lay eggs. C: No, we have live young. Like humans. But unlike humans, we can have many at a time. P: I think we’ll leave that one alone in the interest of preventing “too much information.” C: ...You know me too well. P: I do indeed. What are some of your hobbies, Crossbow? C: Trying on pants, doggy paddling, trying to stick marshmallows in my ears. The feeling is very blissful. Spitting on Prince. The Slink leader. I spit on him a lot. I don’t think he likes it, and that makes it funny. P: He does seem to get irritated with you a tad more than some of the other Slinks. C: That is because I like to stand out. He thinks he’s prettier than I am, so I like to make his life hard for fun. P: Seems a tad unfair to him. C: Well, he hasn’t stopped me yet. P: What’s day to day life like for you? C: I spend some time observing humans in various locations. It has been quite cold out lately, so I like to go indoors. Different houses or stores. I like grocery stores. I like to walk down the aisles and pretend I’m shopping. I pretend to push a cart and pick out groceries. Sometimes I will invite friends to join me. We take walks, or steal clothes from people, or eat small animals. Very boring stuff. P: Oh, here’s a good question: Why do you feel slinks make for good human companionship? C: I’m not sure, but it seems we make humans laugh. I suppose that is a good trait. Laughing is healthy. P: You can’t think of any other reason? C: We will take your makeup and unnecessary clothing if you don’t want it anymore. We don’t like to waste things. Also I suppose we are good at cuddling. Our tails make good pillows it seems. P: They’re rather cushy if you can get past the clamminess. C: Ah… we are loveable idiots. There. I think I found a good description of us now. Well, some are idiots. I’m rather smart. P: That’s a little harsh. C: I said some. Not all. Some cannot escape the title. ...You are being quiet. Let me lighten the mood. *drools* P: *blinks in surprise and laughs* Sorry, I’m a tad busy with work. (I was doing this interview in my cubicle) C: *stops drooling* No rush. P: *clears throat* Okay, next question. What kind of humor do Slinks like? C: Slapstick. ...That rhymes with chapstick, you know. P: It does indeed. Are we talking Three Stooges slapstick? C: *giggles* Yes. P: I can just imagine you and some of your friends acting out those scenes. C: We would be very good at them, I think. P: Okay, final question, and this one’s a little more serious: You're categorized as demons. Do you feel you're darker in energy or about the same as Earth demons? C: Hm… That’s an interesting question. Because many Earth demons are very dark. We are categorized as demons because essentially we are. We are human-eaters, although it’s rare that you will find a truly hostile one. It’s like humans who keep pigs as pets. You eat pigs, but there are also cute ones that you like to keep around. We can be dangerous, however, so I feel our label is suited for us. If you compare us to, perhaps, a hellborn royal demon or something of the sort, we are not nearly as dark. Those are my thoughts, anyhow. P: Well, that was all the questions. Thank you for doing this, Crossbow. C: You are welcome. I hope that some more humans find us interesting after this. We would love to make more pretty human friends. **Since there was an edited post, there’s a brief break in the interview** P: Hey Crossbow, we had someone edit a post, so there’s a few more questions for you. C: Oh boy. I am ready. *eats crackers noisily* P: So one of the new questions is what sort of entertainment do you like? C: Many things entertain me. I like to watch people. I also like to play with toys. I play with toys a lot, like little lizard figures and plastic cars. P: Or those little plastic dinosaurs Lu has on her desk sometimes? C: Yes. Those are magical. P: What are some of your favorite treats? C: Dried fish. Dried mango. I also like seaweed and licking the powdery substance off marshmallows. P: And this is the final question: Do Slinks mate for life or just long enough to produce offspring? C: Oh… I like this question a lot. Thank you asker person who asked me this lovely question. I will answer it best. Most Slinks do not mate for life. We will mate until we have children, and then sometimes again with the same partner if we can stand each other long enough. Sometimes there is love. Sometimes not. The only Slink who mates for life is Prince. Or whoever is the leader at the time. P: Does Prince have a mate currently? C: No, he does not. He is waiting for a good time to have a mate and make babies. Right now he is too busy he has told us. I think he is just making excuses. P: Well, thank you for making more time for us, Crossbow. We appreciate it. C: You are welcome. Thank you for… Yes. *nods* It was fun. ...I think. P: We’ll say it was. I had fun. C: Well if you had fun, then I had fun too. Goodbye then.

[fangroyal]

Whelp, I did it.

I finally unfollowed a blog that I’ve been following for awhile - and whose content I love - because I’m SICK of all the fucking discourse they let happen on their page.

And it honestly really upsets me. I really did love their content; I reblogged from them all the time! It’s just...normally I’m one of those people that not only says but actually follows the rule of “don’t like don’t read”. I stumble into a fic I don’t like because of xyz? I hit the back button and make a mental note never to return. I see discourse I’d rather not ruin my day with? I keep scrollin’ on by. But this was getting to be too much...

When every fucking week you can log into this site and see a wall of posts from one particular blog arguing with and being generally rude to people sending them totally non-aggressive asks...Calling people disgusting because they ship ships that aren’t their cup of tea. Trashing on literally every single person who isn’t the pinnacle of LGBTQIA+ representation - standards of which that are of course set by the creator(s) of the blog, not by, you know, basic morals or anything. Being overtly rude and hostile towards askers who were simply posing an innocent question.

It’s a lot. I’ve been ignoring it for a long, long time, but it’s a lot, and I’m fucking done.

Why can’t we just let people ship what they want to ship, and be nice, and just...I don’t know. Have a good time enjoying a fandom together? Maybe??? Is that too much to ask????